8 ways to keep stakeholders warm over a LONG change

I've worked on changes than have gone for weeks, and others that have gone for YEARS. The change itself often changes during this time. But something that doesn't always change over that period is the stakeholders. And many stakeholders are like elephants: they have LONG memories. 

So when you have a LONG change, it's helpful to bring in some tactics to help keep them warm and motivated over the course of your change.

1. Give quick wins

See if you can pull out a few features and parts of your big change and deliver a few quick wins along the way. It will give you the chance to get traction, get feedback, and show people you've got skin in the game while they wait for the big hoo-ha!

2. Launch in increments

If you're working Agile, you might already be doing this. But one of the best changes I've worked on launched across 3 iterations over about 9-10 months. Each iteration produced a product in and of itself, but the full program of work kept pace and momentum, with each new product building on the progress of the ones before.

3. Phase your change with scale

Big-bang projects are fast going out of fashion. I've worked on projects that have phased up not based on product delivery, but based on scale (or volume/number). So Proof of Concept (POC) would have a handful of impacted teams. Pilot would scale up to more teams to test and prove the ability and support for full rollout. And Full Rollout would take it to all the rest of the teams, either in one hit or phased itself. Scaling up through POC, Pilot and Full Rollout didn't just ensure the solution was ironed it, it helped gather change stories and wins and garner engagement and support for full rollout. Wins all-round!

4. Run showcases

The number of programs and projects I've worked on that have successfully and regularly run showcases could probably fit on one hand. Showcases are an amazing way to keep stakeholders warm over time and you can totally control the guest list: your transformation team, impacted teams only, or the full organisation. Just remember to ACTUALLY show the solution, even if it's still a work in progress. That's sorta the point! Prototypes, demos or finished products are all gold: seeing is believing after all!

5. Book regular meetings

If you've got stakeholders who are super critical and important, but maybe not relevant to engage deeply yet or strapped for time, get permission and book a regular meeting. It does not have to be an hour each week! It can totally be 45 min a month or 30 min each quarter. It's just about keeping those lines of communication open. 

6. Weasel your way onto THEIR regular meetings

Getting a 5-15 minute slot on a regular meeting that many or all of your stakeholders are on can be an awesome way to just keep those folks warm... plus they'll appreciate not having another Zoom call fall into their diary...

7. Set up a project hub

Put all your status updates, key info, photos, videos, stories, key contacts and more onto a shared site or folder and give everyone the link. Just remember to actually keep it up to date...

8. Keep those coffee catch ups going!

It's a running joke that Changies take everyone for coffee, but it's totally true. And we do it purely for stakeholder engagement. And because we like coffee. And talking. But mostly it's for stakeholder engagement. There is so nothing wrong with just popping in a coffee catch up every now and again with your nearest and dearest and subtly sliding in an update or answering questions about your long change. In fact... it's pretty much my go-to move. So if you get a coffee invite from me, expect a little project chatter, too!

So look, these are just 8 examples that I personally have used and seen work really well. There are probably tons of other ideas out there!

If you're keen to discover more about engaging stakeholders, come along to my free Engaging Hearts and Minds through Change webinar on Wednesday 18 May. Register your free spot below:

CLICK HERE to save your spot on my Engaging Hearts and Minds through Change webinar

Lata xx